Why are carbide dies available on pistol calibers but not rifle? Not really a problem I'm just curious and would like to get schooled.
The main benefit of carbide dies for straight walled pistol brass is that you don't need to lube clean brass before sizing, but when you are pushing shoulders back you create a ton of force in the front of the case without lube, and will probably buckle cases regardless of the die hardness, so they have to be lubed anyway. Carbide rifle dies are just more abrasion / wear resistant and last longer for high volume shooters, but are much more expensive as it needs a large insert, not just a small carbide ring. Few companies offer them, and usually just in calibers that tend to be shot in high volumes (223/308/30-06 etc).
Carbide is much harder to machine which is not too bad when making a straight sided cylindrical cavity but gets much more difficult when you need two different cylinders connected by a cone shaped section and the cone shape must be precisely located from the end.
Thanks for the education. Do pistol or rifle dies wear out? How would I know if my dies needed to be replaced?
Thanks for the education. Do pistol or rifle dies wear out? How would I know if my dies needed to be replaced?
I've heard of the carbide rings in pistol dies cracking which would cause me to replace them if it happened to me. Other than that, I know of someone who did not clean their range pick up brass before resizing. Eventually the inside die walls became scored and even with lots of cleaning they would leave scratches on brass cases.